Apple’s soon-to-be available iPad Air and iPad mini with Retina display will help reinstate the company as a major player in the tablet world, say analysts.

The new devices were introduced during a special event in San Francisco on Tuesday. The announcement served as a confidence booster for Apple, which had been experiencing a decrease of its share of the worldwide tablet market.

Tech analysts’ predictions came true when Apple’s vice-president for worldwide marketing, Phil Schiller, announced the soon-to-be available 7.9-inch iPad mini with Retina display, which will sell at $399 and be available in late November.

The mini tablet will still be more expensive than most of its rivals on the market, but Schiller announced that Apple will keep its current iPad mini, without Retina display, in stores while dropping the price from $329 to $299.

“That’s the lowest price yet for an iPad giving you the full iPad experience for under $300,” said Schiller.

He also announced the introduction of the new iPad Air, starting at $499. The 9.7-inch tablet with Retina display will come with a smaller bezel and will be 43 per cent thinner than the previous version, weighing in at one pound.

Schiller said the processor will be much faster as well. The iPad Air will start shipping Nov. 1.

The introduction of the new devices happened the same day as Nokia announced its first-ever tablet, which will operate on the Windows System and will have the same powerful camera technology as its Lumia 1020 smartphone.

It also came as the previous generation iPad mini continued to fend off competition from its less pricy rivals, such as Google’s Nexus 7 and Kindle Fire HDX 7.

While Gartner consumer devices analyst Carolina Milanesi agreed that this year will be the “Christmas of the tablet,” she said she doesn’t see Apple losing consumer love over the price of its gadgets compared to others.

“The tablet market is a really tough market to be in from a margin perspective, it’s really hard to make money,” she said. “I think for Apple, its angle is to drive in more devices into households and developing loyalty, and not going after the consumer who will only ever pay $99 and not ever download an app, or buy the next Apple device.”

Milanesi, who was at the Apple announcement, said she was more surprised by the tone and focus of the presentation, than the upgrades themselves.

“Today Apple was clearly restating and underlining that they believe there is a continuum of computing that includes a notebook and a desktop,” she said. “So when I look at Apple as a vendor, they’re still the only vendor that kind of goes across all devices. It’s just not like Android dominating the phone market, or the PC market being dominated by Windows.”

Also on Tuesday, Apple’s software engineering vice-president Craig Federighi announced new software for Apple desktops and laptops, the Maverick operating system, will be available immediately free.

New Maverick features will allow users to respond to notifications from other apps without leaving the app they are using, and will come with new maps and iBooks apps.

“It’s a fantastic release that extends your battery life and gets more out of your memory,” said Federighi.

The new 13” MacBook Pro, also available immediately, will cost less than its predecessor, at $1,299 (U.S.), and will be faster and thinner with a nine-hour battery life, said Schiller.

The 15” MacBook Pro, said Schiller, will cost $1,999 (U.S.) and will have up to eight hours of battery life.

Krista Napier, manager for mobile and consumer research at IDC Canada, said the new prices announced did not come as a surprise, and likely won’t to Apple fans, either.

“The pricing of the new iPads is consistent with Apple's strategy of positioning itself as a high end brand,” she said. “I think the mini form factor and price point will be attractive for those looking for an Apple device that's a little more accessible in terms of price, but delivers the Apple experience.”

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